


Snow Day in LA

by Tales_From_YouTube



Category: Smosh
Genre: Break Up, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Love Confessions, Romantic Fluff, Snow, Snowball Fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:26:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29892147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tales_From_YouTube/pseuds/Tales_From_YouTube
Summary: You get snowed in at your friend Damien's apartment, and your boyfriend who is away on a work trip is not happy about it. But he has nothing to worry about, right? You guys are just friends. Right?
Relationships: Damien Haas & Reader, Damien Haas & You, Damien Haas/Original Female Character(s), Damien Haas/You
Kudos: 7





	Snow Day in LA

**Author's Note:**

> This ended up being longer than I expected but not long enough to warrant breaking it down into a chaptered story imo so here we go, hope you like it!

A forecasted snow day was unprecedented in LA, even in the middle of winter. People seemed split between stockpiling supplies and ignoring it altogether, expecting nothing resembling snow to grace our streets. I fell somewhere in the middle of this spectrum, having already gone shopping for my groceries for the week but unconvinced we’d get much snow, if any at all. Really, I was trying not to think about it. My boyfriend Nick and I had always agreed to spend my first ever snow day together. Growing up in New Mexico and then moving to California meant I had never seen snow. But Nick grew up in Montana, and he was excited to one day witness me experiencing snow for the first time. I was excited for the prospect, but also torn.

Nick had been away on his work trip for almost two months now, with still a month to go. I’m not going to lie, it’s been rough. I felt like we hadn’t been talking much since he left and it was starting to feel like he was distancing himself on purpose. I didn’t have any explanation for why. Things had seemed fine before the trip, we spent a couple nights a week sleeping at one another’s apartments and texted frequently throughout the day. But these last two months I barely get a good morning and good night text, and he only calls twice a week. Lost in thought, I jumped when I heard my phone start to ring. I grabbed the phone, thinking it may be Nick, but see Damien’s name light up my screen.

“Hey Damien, what’s up?”

“Hey Y/N! Uh, I was wondering if you could do me a solid and, uh, come pick me up from Café Altero?”

“Sure I can… is everything alright?”

“Oh yeah! I’m fine! I just, uh, kind of got stood up for my date. Shayne drove me here and he’s filming the rest of the day, and you’re the first person to answer when I called, so…”

“Gotcha. Yeah let me just get dressed and I’ll be there soon!”

Hanging up the phone I smiled to myself. Damien and I had been friends for years. Early on we had become inseparable, and everyone kept making jokes about us getting together, but over time they dropped it. But then he started doing more for Smosh and seemed like he didn’t have as much time to hang out, and then I started dating Nick. While we were still close, we didn’t see each other nearly as much these days, so it was a nice surprise that he had called me to rescue him.

The forecasted snow was just beginning to fall, almost imperceptible. Miraculously I was able to get a parking spot two blocks from the restaurant. When I walked inside I surveyed the scene. Tables were packed for Saturday brunch and it took me a minute to locate my friend. Then I saw him, waving at me from a back table for two. Poor guy. I can’t believe someone stood him up. I made my way over and noticed he had a drink in front of him. Guess he decided to have breakfast without his date.

“Hey Y/N! Thank you, really, I appreciate it.” He beamed despite the circumstance. “Are you hungry?”

“Now that you mention it, I haven’t eaten yet today. What do they have here? I could always go for some e—” He spoke over me, voicing my exact order.

“Eggs benedict? Hmm, I thought you might say that.” He got a sly look on his face and moments later a waitress approached us. I was expecting to order but when I opened my mouth she was already placing a plate of French toast in front of Damien and handing me a plate of—well wouldn’t you know it.

“Wow Damien, awful cocky of you to order for me. What if I’d wanted the French toast too?” I mocked, both of us knowing full well my brunch order was _always_ eggs benedict.

He feigned being hurt. “Then I’d have shared with you madame. How dare you question my politeness.”

Now I pretended to be offended. “Good sir I would never!” He laughed as I put on a terrible British accent, but I dropped it as I finished my thought. “You really are very thoughtful. That girl doesn’t know what she’s missing!” I added encouragingly. He half smiled.

“Yeah, I don’t know, I’ve been thinking of taking a break from dating for a while. None of them have been great, and the ones I’ve enjoyed seem to fizzle out after the second date. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.” I could see how exhausted by all this he had become.

“No, it’s not you. Trust me, you’re a catch.” He smiled and waved the compliment off. “I’m serious! You’re just finding duds. It happens to the best of us. Before I met Nick I went out with this guy one time who asked the waitress for tips on how to get laid and then winked at me. This was a first date!”

Damien’s jaw dropped and he started laughing. “Well, what did she tell him? Clearly I need some advice!” I laughed at that and shook my head.

“Aw come on Dames, I’m sure you’ve had the chance to take someone home.” I rolled my eyes. He acts like every woman he goes on a date with blows him off when I knew for a fact that wasn’t true. “You’re acting like you’re not cute and charming.”

Damien shakes his head. “I mean sure, there have been some times I could have invited a girl in for drinks and… whatever else. But not on a first date. That’s not me.” He looked almost embarrassed.

I nodded and took another bite of my food before I responded. “I know. I’m just saying, you’re not undesirable. You just haven’t made the right connection yet. Don’t give up.”

He smiled at me and changed the subject. “So how have you and Nick been doing? I know he’s been on that work trip for a while now. Is it tough having him away?” I shrugged, not wanting to get into it fully.

“Yeah it’s been a little hard, he’s been really busy with that project so we haven’t had a ton of time to talk lately. But he’s only got a month before he’s home, so…” I tried to sound chipper, “it’ll be great once he gets back.” I wish I believed that, but I was starting to have doubts myself.

He gave me a sympathetic smile. “Long distance stuff can be hard, even when it’s only a short time.” He looked out the window and noticed the snow was still falling. “Oh wow, I didn’t realize it was actually going to stick like this.”

I turned and looked, seeing a thin layer of snow coating everything. “Shoot,” I mutter and he looks at me, confused, “I’ve never driven in snow before…” He looked back at our plates, noticing we were both finished and quickly flagged the waitress down for the check.

“We should probably go before it gets any worse then, I wouldn’t want you stressing about driving in this.” When the waitress brought us the check Damien and I both reached for our wallets, but he stopped me. “Please, it’s the least I can do since you’re here to rescue me and all.” I thought for a moment and then gave in. It had been a while since someone treated me to a meal, and I knew Damien loved making little gestures like this for his friends.

We made our way to my car and Damien punched his address into my phone’s GPS. The beginning of the drive was fine, the snow wasn’t laying on the road much and despite my fears, driving was not difficult. But as we drove longer the snow kept falling, and harder, and the roads started to get more challenging for me. Damien made sure to help guide me, recommending I be gentle with the breaks and make turns slowly. By the time we were nearly there the snow was falling pretty hard and we were both pretty surprised.

“Man, this is crazy, I thought it would snow for like an hour, maybe a quarter inch, but wow!” Damien was excited by the weather but I was still nervous. I could be excited when I was safely at home on my couch. As we descended the hill into his neighborhood I realized the car wasn’t listening to my commands.

“Dame—Damien it’s not slowing down.” The car, while not going too fast, was picking up speed on the way down the hill and my breaks were doing nothing to slow us.

He heard the panic and jumped in to calm me down. “It’s okay! It’ll be fine, we’ve got plenty of time to slow down.” For anyone else this was probably just a minor inconvenience but for me it was a brand new situation and I didn’t know how to handle it. He rested his hand on my shoulder and waited for the situation to resolve itself. As promised, at the bottom of the hill the car gained traction again and I was able to slowly guide us into the parking spot in front of Damien’s apartment. “You did great.” He smiled encouragingly at me and I halfheartedly thanked him, already dreading my drive back across town to get home.

“Hey, you wanna come in for a couple minutes? Just chill out for a sec before you drive home?” He offered, and I accepted. I turned the car off and got out, and for the first time that day I stopped to take in the snow. Everything around me was covered in a thin layer of white, and even with all the noise of LA, it still felt quiet and calm. But then I got sad, thinking of Nick and how this was supposed to be a moment for us, together. I turned and walked inside, thinking of giving him a call.

As if by manifestation, my phone immediately began to ring. I smiled. It was Nick, and my mood started to lift. Damien ducked into the kitchen to give me some privacy and I answered immediately.

“Hey babe! It’s so crazy you called right now caus—”

“Hey, have you checked my mail this week? He interrupted, not even acknowledging I was speaking.

“Oh, uh, yeah, I was there yesterday, it was all junk.” Before I could continue he cut me off again.

“Shit. Okay thanks.” *click* He hung up.

I stood there in the middle of Damien’s living room, staring at my dark phone screen. I couldn’t believe how curt he’d been just now. We hadn’t been having long calls by any means lately, but that was so… businesslike. Damien slowly walked out of the kitchen holding two glasses of water, placing them on the coffee table and turning to face me.

“You all good? That conversation sounded… short.” He hesitated, and when I didn’t respond he took a step forward.

I snapped back to the present and looked up at him, trying to play it off. “Oh, yeah, he just needed to ask me a question really quick, he’s super busy at work.” I smiled, but my eyes betrayed me as they started to water. I quickly turned away and tried to change the subject, sitting on the couch and picking up one of the glasses of water. “I promise I won’t stay too long; I don’t want to intrude.”

But he wasn’t letting me off the hook, he could tell I was upset. “Are you guys doing alright? You seem a little rattled.”

I took a deep breath, not wanting to unload all my baggage, but feeling myself reaching a breaking point. “Things have been kinda rough. But today…” I paused, trying to find the best way to explain this without sounding pitiful. “We’d always talked about going to the mountains together. He grew up with snow every winter and I’ve never seen it. We always said my first snow day would be just the two of us.” I turned my head to keep him from seeing the tear starting to fall but facing the window, looking out over the beautiful white scene, made it worse. I sniffled a little and Damien made a sympathetic sound. I turned to face him, the single tear still staining my cheek and continued. “We’ve been talking about it for two years. I know it sounds silly but—”

“No, it’s not silly. I’m sorry that didn’t work out for you.” His brow furrowed and he reached out to gently rub my back. “How about I make us some tea?”

I looked at the time and the current state of the road. The snow was falling heavier now and starting to accumulate significantly. I turned to look back at Damien, my nerves kicking in. “I think I should go; the roads are looking bad and I have a decent drive back to my place.” I started to stand but he stopped me.

“Yeah, I don’t know about that. It’s not looking great out there. Maybe just stay a few hours until it stops?” I looked at him with discomfort, feeling like a burden. He clearly sensed my dilemma and added, “Please. I would really feel better knowing you’re here safe. I’m sure it will stop in a few hours.” I thought for a moment then nodded.

“Alright, just until the snow stops.” And before I had even finished talking he was headed to the kitchen digging out two mugs. As I sat waiting on the couch I tried to focus on the positives. I didn’t get to hang out with Damien much these days, and frankly I had nothing else to do this afternoon. And I would feel better not having to drive in all this. I thought about what he’d said and smiled _. I would really feel better knowing you’re safe_. Such a sweet guy. Soon he came back to the living room holding two mugs and handed me one.

“I was going to make tea buuuut I found hot cocoa instead!” He beamed and I smiled back, deciding to enjoy a few unexpected hours with my friend. I took a sip of the cocoa and was immediately taken back to a few winters ago. Damien and I used to go to this little coffee shop halfway between our apartments at the time and order hot cocoa every Sunday. As if reading my mind, he spoke.

“I miss those hot cocoa dates we had that one winter,” he paused, thinking, “Man, that was years ago. Time really flies huh?” His eyes became distant, reminiscing.

“Yeah, those were really nice. That was back when everyone was still giving us shit for hanging out all the time.” We chuckled, but he still felt distant, stuck for a moment in the past. Then he came back, shaking his head lightly and shooting me a half smile.

We kept talking about the old days, laughing over shared jokes and smiling at nice memories. Without realizing it, an hour had gone by, but I was too happy spending time with Damien to even notice, or to see the snow was coming down even heavier.

“God, it’s really a shame you got so busy at work. We’d really settled into a groove there. I wish we could have taken that trip to Portland like we talked about.” I sighed, smiling, but noticed Damien didn’t look as wistful as I felt.

“Yeah, I mean I guess I got kinda busy, but… that wasn’t why we stopped hanging out.”

I looked at him, confused, waiting for him to explain. “You met Nick. I’m not blaming you, you got into a relationship, that’s gotta take priority. And then yes, I did get busier at work, and that was that.” A quiet sadness filled the room, and I reached out to rest my hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry Day. I guess I didn’t realize how much a new relationship can suck someone in. I didn’t even notice that I stopped making time for you, and my other friends too.” He put his hands out, waving away my self-accusation.

“No! Really! It’s not your fault. Adult friendships are like that sometimes. Besides, it’s not like we lost touch. We’ve always been there for each other and I can promise you that will never change.” The sincerity in his voice touched me and I squeezed his shoulder.

“Me too.”

He smiled at me, almost shyly, and I wasn’t sure what to make of his expression. I had this looming feeling of guilt and loss. How had I not noticed? I let myself get so caught up in a relationship that I had started to neglect all the other important people in my life, even one of my best friends.

  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bringing our mugs to the kitchen, he immediately went to wash them in the sink but found dishes from his dinner last night. He groaned and I grabbed a towel, turning to him.

“You wash I’ll dry?” I offered, wanting to be helpful and he nodded appreciatively. He paused to roll his sleeves up before handing me the first clean dish, and I couldn’t help but admire his forearms. He’d always been a good-looking guy, but I knew he’d started working out more lately as he got back into the dating scene, and I was impressed by his commitment to it. Noticing I had stopped drying he intentionally splashed me with a bit of water. I feigned anger and we got back to it, making quick work of the clutter. Working on the last bowl, he tilted it into the running water and a ton of water splashed onto me. Shrieking, I jumped back and glared at him.

“Oh god I’m sorry! That was an accident!” He yelped.

“You liar that was totally on purpose!” I smacked him on the arm and he raised his hands in defense.

“The first splash was, but that was an accident, I promise.” He sounded so sincere, but I knew what I had to do.

“Alright fine, let’s just finish up.” I said, sounding bored, and he turned back to the sink. Right then I grabbed for the hose on the faucet, making him spray himself in the chest. He yelped in surprise and whipped his head around to face me. I smirked.

“Oh you’re gonna get it.” He turned the hose on high and blasted me in the chest while I frantically tried to redirect it back onto his face. Screaming laughter filled the apartment as we slipped around the kitchen. I tried to run into the living room but he grabbed me, needing only one arm wrapped around my waist to prevent my escape. I reached around him and scooped up a mass of bubbles from the sink and dropped them on top of his head. Squeezing me harder against him he spun me so the sink was out of my reach and plopped the sponge on top of my head, soapy water dripping down my face. I tried to escape again and he momentarily lost his grip on me. Diving to catch me he slipped on the wet floor, taking us both down. We collapsed to the ground laughing hysterically, completely soaked.

“I hate you!” I yelled through my laughing fit.

“Oh heck no, you started it! I was acting in self-defense!” He was out of breath and panting, his legs tangled with mine on the floor. Neither of us made a move to get up for a minute, catching out breath. Eventually he carefully stood, turned off the sink and helped me up. We dried up most of the water in the kitchen with bath towels and then he mentioned wanting to change.

“Oh shoot, that’s not fair. You’re soaked. Come on, you can borrow a shirt,” he surveyed my drenched outfit, “…and maybe some pants too.”

As odd as it felt to borrow his clothes, I couldn’t deny it was very necessary. I agreed and followed him into his room. He rifled through a drawer, pulling out a pair of sweatpants for me before going to his closet and grabbing a couple t-shirts. He tossed one to me and before I could turn to leave the room he took his own wet shirt off, tossing it onto the bed. Suddenly finding myself unable to look away, I marveled at his upper body. He really _had_ been working out. He pulled the dry shirt on and turned back around, noticing I was still in the doorway staring at him.

“Are those okay? Do you want something else?”

I shook my head. “No, no these are fine!” I quickly exited and went to the bathroom in the hall to change. Once I had the dry clothes on I took a look at myself in the mirror. He’d given me a pair of blue plaid sweatpants and a grey shirt with a logo on it I didn’t recognize. The shirt was a little big on me, same as the sweats, but in a cozy way. I picked up my sopping clothes and exited the bathroom at the same moment Damien came into the hallway. He took my clothes and threw them into the dryer with his, turning it on and gesturing me back to the living room, looking out the window.

“Well, I was going to say you should wait til your clothes are dry to leave, but…”

I looked out the window too and saw the problem. The snow was now inches high and still coming down steadily. It was 3pm already, and once the sun went down in a few hours the roads would be more treacherous. I looked at him nervously, but didn’t even need to express my anxiety.

“So I’m thinking you may want to just stay here tonight. It’s not stopping and I don’t want you trying to navigate this, especially in the dark.” His face was serious, his brow furrowing as he spoke. I nodded, trying to wrap my head around the day. I hadn’t spent the night at anyone’s place other than Nick’s for the entirety of our relationship, something I only now came to realize. I was a little anxious to tell him I would be staying at Damien’s tonight, but honesty is best and he knew we were friends, nothing more.

“You’re probably right… I’m just gonna call Nick real quick…”

“Sure! Yeah, do you want to go sit in my room for some privacy?” I nodded and excused myself to his room. He gently pulled the door until it was barely ajar and I heard him walk away. I paused for a moment, suddenly nervous. I dialed Nick and it rang and rang, going to voicemail. I hung up and tried his temporary work number, with the same result. I went back to his cell phone and when I was sure it was going to go to voicemail again, he picked up.

“Hey Y/N, is it important? I’m kind of busy right now.” His words were clipped.

“Yeah sorry, I just wanted to let you know I’m kind of snowed in at Damien’s place and I’m probably gonna stay here tonight.”

“You’re what?! Why are you at Damien’s? What snow?” He sounded angry.

“Well I tried to tell you when you called earlier, it’s actually snowing a lot today. I had to pick Damien up this morning and drove him home so—”

“No, wait, you’ve been at his place all day? What the hell Y/N? Are you just calling to let me know you’re cheating on me?” He was nearly yelling, but I was more confused than upset.

“What? Nick, no, what? I’m not cheating on you, why would you think that? I just don’t want to try to drive home with the roads like this!” I was near tears, shocked that he would accuse me of that completely out of the blue.

“Whatever, we can talk about this tomorrow. I’ve got work to finish up but you better not stay at this dude’s house tonight.” Without another word, he hung up.

I just sat there on Damien’s bed, stunned. Nick had never spoken to me like that before. We’d been fighting a little more recently, but that was so accusatory and mean. I tried dialing his number again in hopes he would let me explain the situation, but the phone only rang twice before he hit ignore on my call. I sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to process that what had just happened, a few frustrated tears beginning to form in my eyes, when I heard the door creak. I looked up and Damien had peeked his head in.

“It sounded like you got off the phone. I was just coming to check on ya.” Noticing my expression he took a couple steps into the bedroom. “Are you okay? What happened?” He came over and sat on the bed next to me, looking worried. I opened my mouth to speak but words didn’t come out. He rested his hand on my shoulder encouragingly and finally I was able to start to explain the phone call I’d just had. His face went from worried to angry.

“Why would he jump to something like that? You’ve been together for years, and suddenly he leaves town and accuses you of being unfaithful?”

“Yeah, if anything I should accuse _him_ of cheating, he’s the one on this long-distance work trip who’s been having all those late nights at work for months.” I looked down at my phone, feeling a mix of anger and disappointment. I heard Damien huff and start to fidget, like he had something to say.

“Y/N, is there any chance… Do you think he actually may be?” He asked hesitantly. I didn’t understand.

“Maybe what?”

“May be… cheating. On you.” His voice was soft and low. I looked at him indignantly.

“No! I mean, no, no way!” My voice came out sounding less convincing than I had intended.

“It’s just… well every time I’ve heard of someone making baseless accusations about their partner cheating, well… it’s because _they’re_ the one being unfaithful. It’s like, once they start doing it and realize how easy it comes for them, they start to think everyone must be doing it. And they project their own insecurities onto you. Er, the other person.” He looked me in the eyes, and in that moment I knew that he was right. Things hadn’t been right for months, even before he left for this trip.

“Oh my god.” My voice barely came out above a whisper. Viewing things through this new lens, I started to see his odd behaviors for what they were. I didn’t even notice I had started crying until I felt Damien brush a tear off my cheek. I snapped back to reality, wiping the rest of the tears from my eyes and standing up, beginning to pace back and forth.

Damien tried to back pedal, not wanting to be the catalyst of an argument between me and my boyfriend. “You don’t know that he is yet, all I was saying is that it was unusual for someone to start accusing someone of cheating out of nowhere. Maybe try calling him again when he gets off work tonight and you two can talk it out.”

I stopped and stared at him. “No Damien, you’re right.” I realized I wasn’t even sad. “You’re right. Things have been bad for months. And even if he’s not cheating, he’s been trying to push me away.”

He frowned and I waved my hands. “Don’t be upset. I actually don’t think I’m even upset. I’m kind of…relieved?” I paused, thinking about my words. “I’m relieved my boyfriend is cheating on me.” I said incredulously. And then I started laughing. Damien looked concerned, probably wondering if he was watching me have a breakdown.

“Day, I’m okay,” I assured him as my laughter died down, “I’m okay. This relationship isn’t healthy. And honestly, this is good. You said you needed to take a break from dating, well I need to take a break from having a boyfriend.”

His expression softened. “I’m sorry this happened. But if it’s what needed to happen, then… maybe this is just part of your journey to find true happiness. Everything happens for a reason, right?”

Indeed.

  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We sat around talking for a little while and I could tell Damien didn’t fully believe my mood was authentic. But it was. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I didn’t realize how stressed out I had been about my relationship lately until I just decided not to worry about it anymore. Sure we hadn’t officially broken up yet, but in my mind it was over. It was too easy to push Nick from my mind.

We started to get hungry but realized there was going to be no ordering in, so Damien started rummaging through his fridge.

“Well, I don’t have a _ton_ of options…how about breakfast for dinner? I have bacon and eggs, and I can whip up some pancakes.” He called from the kitchen.

I hopped off the couch and made my way to the pantry, then the fridge, grabbing pancake supplies. Wordlessly Damien followed suit and started to man the bacon and eggs station, and we fell into a quiet rhythm.

We made quick work of our breakfast for dinner and sat down on the couch to eat fifteen minutes later. Damien reached for the remote and started playing old YouTube videos we used to watch together. It was nice to reminisce, remembering inside jokes we’d both forgotten about; it was almost like no time had passed at all since those days when people used to joke that we were a couple. It was comfortable.

*Damien’s POV*

Sitting on the couch, watching videos and laughing like the old days, felt familiar yet strange. The last couple years had been different, and I knew I was equally at fault for letting the distance between us grow. But I didn’t really have a choice in that, not once she got together with Nick. It became too hard, after hearing everyone joke about us being a couple for so long, I had almost allowed myself to pretend it was true. Seeing her with Nick snapped me out of that illusion, but it made me face the feelings head on. I knew I needed to pull away and let her be happy with him, and she did seem happy. That’s all I’d ever wanted for her, even though I couldn’t be the guy to make her smile like that anymore. But seeing her here again, smiling and laughing like we used to, made my heart flutter.

I had spent the last few years trying not move on, and for the most part I had. I was dating on and off, meeting new people but never making that connection that makes you want to stay up all night talking. I often wondered if maybe I never would, if I’d missed my chance with the girl of my dreams by not telling Y/N how I felt when I had the chance. But now… we’ll she’s not single, not technically, but she’s going to end things. My morality struggled with how to feel about this situation. I know it would be wrong to make a move. And after all this time, even if by some miracle she had reciprocated feelings for me at some point back then, the likelihood of her still having those feelings was slim to none. So that settles it. I’ll just be there for her however I can.

“Hey,” I started, interrupting her story about the time we spent all day in our favorite bookstore, “Look.” I pointed to the window, and we got up off the couch to admire the view. The sun was setting, casting a warm orange glow across the undisturbed snow.

“Oh wow, that’s beautiful.” She breathed, enchanted by the sight.

“Yeah, beautiful.” I agreed, as my eyes flickered down to her face. She didn’t notice, as mesmerized by the sparkling snow as I was by her sparkling eyes.

“Come on.” I put my hand out and she looked at me, confused, but took it. I pulled her to the front door throwing a pair of my slippers at her while I hastily put on some boots. She put them on, still giving me a questioning look. I smiled and unlocked the front door, opening it and feeling the burst of cold, smelling the snow. She stepped through the door, leaving the first footprints in the untouched snow on my doorstep. The snow was almost done falling, and in the stillness you could just faintly hear the pat-pat sound of the flakes floating to the ground. I just watched her, marveling at it all.

“This is so amazing, I’m almost not even cold.” She was giddy, looking around with childlike wonder. She started stomping around, making footprints. I took a moment to walk over to my car and start clearing the windshield when suddenly I was accosted by a snowball. I whipped my head around.

“Hey there that’s not fair! You’ve got to declare a snowball fight before you—” While her guard was down I threw the snowball I had been forming with the snow on my car at her. She let out a scream, followed by a giggle before noticing I was making another one. She darted behind my neighbors car and I ducked behind mine and we threw snowballs back and forth at each other for a good five minutes before I heard her calling.

“I surrender! I surrender!” She shouted, laughing. “My feet are getting cold; these slippers are not waterproof!”

I popped up from behind my car and could see she was standing slowly. I walked over to her and without thinking just scooped her up into my arms. She giggled and I carried her back into the apartment, placing her down and shutting the door as the last remnants of sunlight faded from the sky.

Suddenly she turned to me, placing her hands on my arms. “Thank you. I didn’t realize how much I missed days like this. And the snow… I’m glad I got to spend my first snow day with you.” Her eyes held pure happiness, her smile soft but meaningful.

“I’m glad too.” I wanted to say so much more but left it at that. “Come on, let’s go warm up.” We ran up the stairs and she dove onto the couch, wrapping a blanket around herself. As I sat down next to her she unwrapped herself and engulfed the both of us in the blanket, sitting so close to me she was nearly in my lap. I had never felt so happy and so sad at the same time.

*End Damien’s POV*

  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Damien and I had really settled back into things. The vibe was exactly where it had been back then, talking about things with each other that were reserved only for best friends. When Damien made a joke about always picking me up from work for our Wednesday lunches, I decided to confess a little secret I had.

“You know, my coworkers always thought we were dating too, not just everyone at Smosh.” I laughed to myself. “It’s kind of funny actually, cause I totally had a crush on you for a little while back then.”

His face flushed and he froze for a second before shifting awkwardly in his seat. “You did?”

I started to get worried, I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. Besides, it was so long ago. “I mean, yeah, just for a little while.” I laughed awkwardly. “Come on, can you blame me? But that was years ago Day, don’t worry.”

He kept fidgeting, not quite able to make eye contact. “Heh, yeah that’s funny. I kind of did too. Back then. For a bit. I’m honestly surprised you didn’t notice.”

I was shocked. I had no idea. I mean, Damien had always been a little friendlier than other guys, but he was like that with everyone. At least, I thought he was.

He saw the look on my face and tried to help dissipate the awkwardness in the air. “That was so long ago though, I’m sure those feelings are long gone. We’re friends. We’ve always been friends. It’s all good.” He was smiling but his eyes revealed his true feelings; sad, distant. Now it was my turn to start fidgeting.

“Damn Damien, if I’d known…” I trailed off, not sure I wanted to allow that thought experiment to continue. Would things have been different? What would have happened if he had told me back then? It was too late for all that now.

He finally looked me in the eyes then, his expression serious. “If you’d known… what? You think we would have actually gotten together?” His question sounded hopeful but his voice was sad, resigned.

“I—I don’t know, maybe? It’s hard to say now. So much time has passed.”

He looked down at his hands, unable to hold my gaze. “Yeah, so much time. I think that’s the problem though. I forced my feelings down because I didn’t think you were interested, and then Nick came along… so I moved on.” He swallowed, pausing to consider his next words. “But I didn’t move on, not really. I’ve been dating for years and not finding anyone and I thought it was because of something I was doing, but it’s not. It’s because of you.” He looked back at me, his eyes intense, wrought with feeling. “I never stopped caring about you, those feelings… they didn’t go away. I don’t know if they ever will.”

He took a deep breath and let it out shakily as the silence settled between us. I was speechless. But Damien interpreted the shock on my face as discomfort and clammed up.

“I’m sorry. I—I didn’t want… sorry. Excuse me for a minute.” He got up from the couch and before I could stop him he was in his bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

What had just happened? Damien used to have a crush on me? Damien _still_ had a crush on me? My heart dropped to my stomach. I really had no idea. I felt like an idiot. I felt… sad. I stood from the couch and went to his door, letting myself in without knocking. He jumped at my sudden entrance, lifting his head from his hands as he sat on the side of the bed.

“Do you still have feelings for me? Right now?” I needed to know.

Damien took a breath, the type of breath you take when you’re trying to stop crying. “Y/N, you’re kind of trapped here for the night and I don’t want things to get more uncomfortable. Maybe we should just not talk about this anymore.”

“Answer the question Damien.” My voice was shaky but stern. I took a step toward him and his eyes never left me as he rose from the bed.

“I’m… in love with you.”

Neither of us moved. I realized I wasn’t breathing and tried to take a breath but couldn’t. It was as though there was no air in the room. I put my hands on his chest, maybe to reassure him, maybe to ground myself, I wasn’t sure. I felt his heart beating like a drum, and he placed his hand over mine. I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. I noticed his eyes flit down to my lips and back.

“How do _you_ feel?” He spoke slowly. He tried to maintain his composure but I could see him bracing for heartbreak. How _did_ I feel? Of course I cared about him, I always had. But a lot had changed since that crush I had years ago. Suddenly I thought of Nick, and in that moment I knew. Even at our best, I’d never felt this connected to Nick. I’d never felt unbridled joy when he walked into a room. We’d never stared into each other’s eyes like there was nothing else in the universe.

“Day…” I moved one hand to the side of his face, cupping his cheek gently. I felt a shiver run through him and he reached up to run his fingers through my hair, leaning in closer. In that split second I decided to go for it. I pulled his face down to mine and kissed him, savoring the warmth of his lips on mine. He wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me against him and deepening the kiss. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt bliss like this. But suddenly he pulled back.

“Y/N, I… you’re in a relationship. I know you said it’s over, but it’s not yet. And I don’t want… I can’t be the guy you cheat on your boyfriend with.”

Cheat. Somehow that word stung more coming out of Damien’s mouth than Nick’s. I knew he could see the shock on my face. He stroked my cheek with his thumb but I was lost in thought. He was right. I pulled out of his embrace and he started to speak but I shushed him. I checked the time, a little after 7. Nick should be done with work by now. I strode out of the bedroom and found my phone on the couch, immediately dialing Nick. He picked up on the last ring, sounding out of breath, and I rushed to speak before he had a chance to.

“Hey Nick. I think we both know what’s been going on lately and you’re right. I did cheat on you, but not before you accused me of it earlier, it happened like two minutes ago. And I think you’ve been cheating on me for months now. Either way, we’re over. Clearly neither of us want this anymore.” Silence. After a moment he answered.

“Okay, Y/N, if that’s what you want…” He said coolly. After years together, I never expected our breakup to sound like this.

“Yeah, Nick, it is. Bye.” I hung up before he could respond and dropped my phone back onto the couch.

Turning around I saw Damien standing in the hallway. I knew he had heard the conversation and I didn’t care.

“You’re right Day, that was wrong. It’s not fair to you to be confessing my feelings and kissing you when I haven’t actually ended things with my boyfriend. But… now I have. So…” I hesitantly waited for him to say something, anything. Instead he rushed over to me, grabbed my face with both his hand and kissed me like it was the last thing he would ever do. All the emotion he had been pushing down for years came out in that kiss. I felt his passion, his sadness, his longing. I wrapped my arms around him and held onto him for dear life, his emotions mixing with mine, overwhelming me.

He was the first to break the kiss, resting his forehead on mine. I noticed tear tracts painting his cheeks and reached up to wipe them away, but he grabbed my hand and held it still against his face. He leaned down and kissed me again, quick but tender, before pulling back and looking into my eyes.

“I need to know if this is real. I’ve loved you for—” he choked up a little, “For as long as I can remember.”

I threw my arms around his neck in a tight hug and he wrapped his arms around my waist. “It’s real, Day, it’s real.” I don’t know how long we stayed in that embrace. I felt a few more of his tears fall onto my neck and I squeezed him harder, wanting to reassure him. Eventually we let go, settling onto the couch, but before I could get comfortable he pulled me onto his lap. I nuzzled into his neck and he started to pet me, playing with my hair and tickling the back of my neck.

“I’m really glad that girl stood me up today.” He murmured and I laughed.

“Yeah, me too.”


End file.
